The Dodgy Realm of Conventionality

On the Occasion of the Founding of the Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies

Abstract

Written on the occasion of the launching of the Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies, this article develops from the fundamental difference the Indian Buddhist philosopher Dignāga (ca.480–ca.540) made between the world of perception and the world of language, and the ramifications this philosophical distinction has for how concepts as ‘China’ and ‘journal’ are understood. Further referring to Dharmakīrti (fl. ca. 6^th or 7^th century), a hierarchical structure is suggested within the domain of academic publications and the position of the Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies within this hierarchy is reflected upon. The latter is discussed through the angle of Zhu Xi (1130–1200) daoxue thinking, as well as from the perspective of the contemporary state of the field of academic publishing.

本文撰寫於«歐洲漢學學會雜志» 建刊之際，試從印度佛教哲學家陳那Dignāga (約480 – 約540) 關於感知世界和語言世界之間根本差異以及這種哲學上的差別對於'中國' 和'雜志' 等概念的影響出發，運用法稱Dharmakīrti (約六、七世紀) 在所有概念領域內提出的一種層次結構，來考量«歐洲漢學學會雜志» 作為學術出版物的角色，並結合朱熹(1130–1200) 道學思想的角度以及學術出版領域的現狀進行探討。